The 17 annual American Black Film Festival opening in Miami last week with the screening of powerful film “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete.”

After making its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January the film rolled out again at the ABFF, the drama stars Jennifer Hudson, Skylan Brooks, Anthony Mackie, Jordin Sparks, Jeffrey Wright, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, in a film that sees Jennifer Hudson as a drug addict mother whose arrest forces her son and his best friend to fend for themselves.

During a sweltering summer in New York City, 14-year-old Mister’s hard-living mother is apprehended by the police, leaving the boy and nine-year-old Pete alone to forage for food while dodging child protective services and the destructive scenarios of the Brooklyn projects. Faced with more than any child can be expected to bear, the resourceful Mister nevertheless feels he is an unstoppable force against seemingly unmovable obstacles. But what really keeps the pair in the survival game is much more Mister’s vulnerability than his larger-than-life attitude. The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete is a beautifully observed and tremendously moving film about salvation through friendship and the way transformation sometimes can happen just by holding on long enough.

The script was penned by Michael Starrbury, and by co-produced by Alicia Keys.

Zeba Blay.

You might recall that, last year, in a move to further strengthen its place in the Black cinema space, Lionsgate formed a partnership with Jeff Clanagan, the founder of CodeBlack Enterprises. CodeBlack Films was launched via that partnership.

George Tillman Jr., who was among those walking the red carpet at the ABFF, directs the film.

A child being thrust into an adult role is the central theme as the head of household and juvenile caregiver, but there is yet another twist disclosed which turns out to be the childhood crush unfolds.

LET ME EXPLAIN

‘Let Me Explain’ captures the laughter, energy and mayhem from Hart’s 2012 concert tour, which spanned 10 countries and 80 cities, and generated over $32 million in ticket sales. Hart’s “Let Me Explain” tour was one of the most successful comedy tours of all time, with more than 540,000 tickets sold. Both of his shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden and his performance at London’s O2 Arena sold out, as well as his appearances in Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Amsterdam. The tour concluded this past New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles by selling out the Staples Center and grossing over $1 million in revenue in one night. Only five other comedians – Andrew Dice Clay, Dane Cook, Chris Rock, Russell Peters and Eddie Murphy – have sold out Madison Square Garden where Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain was filmed. It will premier this weekend at the BET Experience after being screed last week at the American Black Film Festival.

AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL

ABFF founder Jeff Friday is among the most innovative and visionary entrepreneurs in the entertainment industry today.

Leading what he calls a quiet revolution, Friday has transformed his passion for film and television into a preeminent entertainment enterprise that is changing the face of Hollywood. His company, Film Life, Inc., has made a major impact on the motion picture industry and is positioned to become the leading American brand offering Black movies, television and digital entertainment content. The company’s mantra, “Because Hollywoodn’t,” best expresses the ethos that has impelled Film Life to take advantage of the unique business opportunity that exists within the entertainment industry for a content provider working outside the studio system.

The urban-based movie fest also included the Cadillac Discussion and the appearance of the casts of both Best Man Holiday and Baggage Claim comedy films. Taking place at the grandiose Ritz Carlton hotel in South Beach, the ABFF runs through Sunday, June 24, peaking with the Lionsgate world premiere of Kevin Hart’s Let Me Explain, the annual ABFF awards and the closing after party. And you thought that Miami Heat win their second consecutive NBA championship was the only celebration going on in South Beach last week. The ABFF will be back again next year, but will the Heat?

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